Core Tip: Tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers are among the most processed vegetables in Bulgaria.

Tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers are among the most processed vegetables in Bulgaria. Over the past few years, there has been a steady upward trend in tomatoes and peppers processed in one form or another. At the same time, a slight growth has been observed in the processing of gherkins.

According to Eurostat, the fruit and vegetable processing industry accounts for about 7% of the value generated by the food industry. Over the past 1-2 years, there have been some signs of growth, with notable changes in foreign trade.

The fruit and vegetable processing sector managed to export a production worth € 124 million in 2016. The value of imports of such products in the same year amounted to € 120 million, so there was a small positive trade balance. With the EU membership, exports have almost doubled, while imports have grown by about 55%.

Projections show that in the period from 2018 to 2022, tomato processing will be about 7% greater than between 2013 and 2017. Meanwhile, pepper processing is expected to grow by about 26% over the same period. For pickles, an increase of about 5-10% is expected for the 2018-2022 period compared to 2013-2017.